So there’s your answer. Brendan Shanahan does not have a contract with the Rangers, and won’t be in camp when it opens tomorrow.

“It wouldn’t be appropriate for him to go,” Rick Curran, Shanahan’s agent, said just now.

A week ago Curran said there was “mutual interest” in having the player back for a third season in New York. Today he said that hasn’t necessarily changed, but you have to wonder what it means that the two sides haven’t reached an agreement in time for the start of camp.

Here’s one educated guess: the Rangers don’t have any cap space. And until they figure out what they’re going to do with their NHL roster or make a trade, that’s not going to change.

“I would have hoped that we could have got something done since it’s opening tomorrow, but nothing’s been done yet,” Curran said. “At this point weâ€™ve been asked to be patient, which is what we’ve been doing. As long as Brendan’s intent is to come back and play with the Rangers, we have no choice but to sit back and be patient.”

Curran emphasized that Shanahan has other options at his disposal. Anaheim, Montreal, Philadelphia, and New Jersey have all been mentioned in media reports as possibilities.

“All I got to do is pick up the phone and call someone back if I’m told it’s not possible for him to be a Ranger,” Curran said.

For what it’s worth, Curran and Glen Sather never spoke today.Â I guess Sather’s a stickler for that “no cell phone on the golf course” rule…